Yen Drops Versus Peers as Stocks Rally Damps Haven Demand

Yen Drops Versus Peers as Stocks Rally Damps Haven Demand

Bloomberg (19/3) - The yen weakened for the first time in four days against the dollar before a change of leadership at the Bank of Japan tomorrow amid expectations for expanded monetary easing. The Japanese currency declined versus most of its major peers as Asian stocks rebounded from yesterday’s biggest drop in more than seven months. The euro fell for a second day versus the dollar after media reports said Cyprus’s parliament will not approve a bank-deposit levy to help fund the nation’s bailout. New Zealand’s currency weakened after Finance Minister Bill English called the currency overvalued. The yen fell 0.2 percent to 95.36 per dollar at 8:08 a.m. in London. It was little changed at 123.39 per euro. It touched 121.15 yesterday, the strongest level since March 5. The euro slipped 0.2 percent at $1.2942 after dropping as much as 1.5 percent to $1.2882 yesterday, the least since Dec. 10. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/euro-trades-near-year-low-before-cyprus-votes-on-deposits.html